“

There’s no feeling quite as exhilarating as that of seeing families reunite,” says Zaheer Abbas, head of the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau’s Family Tracing Unit.

A bearded man in his 40s, Abbas relates how a boy reunited with his parents after staying at the facility for almost seven years. “He had initially kept details about his family from us. Later, he began to open up, and eventually told us about his father’s workplace. When our team members took him there, he met with someone who instantly recognised him and helped us connect with the boy’s family. The reunion was overwhelming.”

Sara Ahmed, the CWPB chairperson, tells TNS that every year the bureau rescues over 600 missing or abandoned children through a legal process. “When the children are brought to the bureau, the first step is to obtain their legal custody from the Child Protection Court. Once the custody is established, the process of rehabilitation begins. Boys and girls are placed in separate hostels, which we call Child Protection Institutes,” she says.

Technology is used to trace families, even in other provinces. Social media comes in handy too. Waseem........

© The News on Sunday